ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lincoln men's basketball team shot .643 in the second half, scoring 50 points over the final 20 minutes to beat Missouri S&T, 87-64, in the semifinals of the GLVC Championship on Saturday (March 8). 

Missouri S&T (24-5) entered the game ranked No. 10 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll, but the Blue Tigers held the Miners to just .379 shooting overall and .385 beyond the arc. LU also did not give the Miners many opportunities for free throws, as Missouri S&T attempted only nine shots at the line, and made just four of those attempts.

Five Blue Tigers scored in double figures, led by Malcolm Davis with 20 points, five rebounds and an assist. Tyler Chapman provided 17 points, three assists and a rebound while Andreas Fuller totaled 15 points, six boards, a team-high four assists and two steals. Max Ekono came off the bench to supply 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Matthieu Biembongo, meanwhile, ended the day with 12 points, eight boards and a block.

There were four lead changes in the first half, but none in the second as Lincoln (22-8), which led by five at the half, roared out to a 48-39 lead on Fuller's layup with 17:01 to play. At the 13:17 mark, Ekono made a pair of free throws to launch the Blue Tigers on a 16-2 run that put LU on top, 73-50, with 9:22 remaining. Lincoln led by as many as 31 with 2:46 to play, highlighting an afternoon in which the Blue Tigers shot .500 both overall and from three-point range.

LU, which also shot .824 at the free throw line, finished with a dominant 47-29 advantage in rebounding. 13 of those boards were pulled down by Franck Yetna, who also had nine points, a team-high three steals, an assist and a block in Saturday's win. Youssouf Timera and Tyson Robinson also had rebounds while Mikey West closed the scoring with three points, three assists and two rebounds.

Lincoln improved to 3-0 against Missouri S&T in the postseason, following an 86-84 win over the Miners in the 1976 Division II tournament and a 79-61 victory over MST in the 1981 MIAA tournament. With Saturday's win, Lincoln advances to a conference championship game for the first time since playing in the finals of the MIAA tournament in 1987.

The Blue Tigers will face the winner of Saturday's game between Missouri-St. Louis and Upper Iowa in Lindenwood University's Hyland Arena on Sunday (March 9) at 1:00 p.m. CST.